[6] Lee was one of the first great forwards in Australian Football with an ability to win the ball on the ground or in the air.

[8] In 1912, Lee had a cartilage removed from his knee;[9] and, according to his (then) team captain, Dan Minogue, writing in 1937, Lee was the first senior VFL footballer to have that operation.

[11][12][13] He was made a life member of the Collingwood Football Club in 1918.

In 1996, Lee was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame.

[14] In 1998, he was selected on the half-forward flank in the Collingwood team of the Century.